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Marines to be based in Australia, report says

Crocodile Dundee, move over — there’s a new tough guy reportedly moving in Down Under. The U.S. will base 500 to 1,000 Marines in Australia as part of an expanded partnership between the two countries, according to media reports.

No announcement has been made, but President Obama is expected to travel to Australia next week. He’ll share the news along with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Nov. 17, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, which first broke the story. Other media organizations with journalists in the region confirmed the report.

The Marines will reportedly be based at Robertson Barracks in Darwin, an Australian military installation on the country’s northern coast. The move will require an expansion of the base, but no new installations will be required, the Morning Herald reported.

In Washington, spokesmen for the Defense Department, Marine Corps headquarters and the Australian embassy declined to comment. A spokesman at the White House could not be reached for comment Friday morning.

The U.S. military currently has no significant permanent presence in Australia, but has visited for years. In September, Maj. Gen. Rick Burr toured the amphibious transport dock Green off the coast of Darwin, meeting with elements of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. In August, elements of the 31st MEU, out of Okinawa, Japan, conducted live-fire training at Kangaroo Flats, an area of Darwin thick with vegetation.

The timing of the announcement was expected to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the alliance between the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

It won’t be greeted positively by everyone, however. Some analysts said it could exacerbate tensions in the region with China, and Australia’s Green Party already has come out against it, saying it will make the country a more significant military target. They also are opposed to hosting U.S. forces in Australia for military training foreign troop deployment. There are currently about 1,500 Australian troops in Afghanistan as part of the coalition force there.